1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to fluid delivery lines, and more particularly to fluid delivery lines for hospitals.
2. Description of Related Art
During certain medical procedures and hospitalization, patients are often connected to a number of fluid sources for the purposes of, providing medications, hydration and other fluids. The fluid sources are generally coupled to the patient via lines such as catheters, intravenous (IV) and fluid lines. Many of these lines and tubes are connected to the patient during transport, and have a tendency to become entangled and confused. In addition, there is a risk that the lines will be disturbed or even disconnected if caught on a projection while the patient is being transported. A mass of entangled lines and tubes also gives family members and loved ones anxious feelings when seeing a patient treated in this manner.
Management of fluid delivery lines has also become a costly exercise for health care professionals. It may often take a nurse twenty to thirty minutes to reconnect IV lines after a patient is sent for a procedure.
Attempts to solve this problem have generally comprised a sleeve or cover that is wrapped around a segment of the IV lines, such as those devices described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,759, and U.S. Patent Serial No. 2004/0077998. However, both of these devices still allow the IV lines to become tangled within the covering. Because the IV lines are not anchored in within the covering, they are prone to tangling and inadvertent cessation of fluid flow to the patient.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is an IV line management system that allows for quick coupling and decoupling of lines to the patient and means for maintaining the continuity of the lines without tangling. At least some of these objectives will be met in the description below.